Clifton College News: Prep

Genesis Global School

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Clifton College prides itself in offering pupils amazing opportunities to develop international links through educational, cultural and sporting visits abroad. The benefits of these excursions far outreach the planned objectives and lead to establishing the foundations for global citizens of the future.

This ethos extends to the staff too and collaboration between Clifton College and Genesis Global School in Dehli, India, has recently been established. Visits have previously been made by Dr Wendy Bowring (Head of Butcombe) and Mr Mark Moore (Head of College), who paved the way for closer links to be created between the two schools, with a return visit from Genesis last summer.

This Easter, Mrs Julie Molesworth (Deputy Head Academic - Pre), Mrs Fiona Hallworth (Director for External Relations) and Mrs Rachel Griffiths (Butcombe), spent three days at Genesis Global School working closely with their Senior Management and teaching staff. For our part it was sharing our expertise and experience in a number of areas that this newly established school wished to develop. Valuable professional dialogue ensued throughout the visit and our hosts kept us busy!

The penultimate day of the trip, however, could not fail to be the highlight - a visit to the Taj Mahal! This impressive piece of architecture and art lives up to all the expectations and made the journey even more worthwhile.

We are grateful to our hosts, particularly Mr Pramod Sharma (Principal) and Mrs Neeti Bhalla Saini (Head Junior School), for their meticulous planning and attention, well beyond our needs.

Mrs Julie Molesworth
Deputy Head Academic

Rugby and Skiing in the Pre

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:01 GMT

The Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s Rugby Tournament

On Monday 26th March the 1st VII rugby squad ventured down to London to take part in the Rosslyn Park National 7s. The sun shone and so did the boys over two fantastic days of rugby. On the first day our challenge was to win all our 3 pool matches in order to qualify for finals day on Tuesday. We started poorly in our first match against Prestfelde conceding an early try. We pulled a try back but then went behind again, 14-7. The boys then started to settle down and never really looked back winning the game 56-14. The good form continued over the next two games where all the boys contributed to some awesome sevens rugby, completely dominating the opposition, beating Barnardiston Hall 47-0 and Felsted 29-0, therefore winning their group in style. We were then given a bye into the quarter finals, so we had achieved our first target of reaching the finals day. Before heading off to our hotel we watched the play off between Dulwich Prep and Bishop's Stortford to see who would be awaiting us in the quarters. Bishop's Stortford beat a very good Dulwich side, so we knew a massive challenge awaited us the next day.

After a fine feast and an early night we were glad to see the sun still shining Tuesday morning. After a mighty cooked breakfast we made our way back to the playing fields to cheer on the Senior School 1st VII before starting our preparations for what was probably the biggest game in the boys lives to date. The boys were very nervous but it was clear they were ready for the challenge ahead.

Louie Shaw who had been one of our star performers this season kicked off and the battle commenced, unfortunately we conceded an early try. The boys hit back and Matt Welsh went close to scoring a well worked try, but for an impressive try saving tackle from the opposition. Even though we had some good possession, Bishop's Stortford manage another try just before half time making the score 12-0. At half time we felt we were still in the game and knew two converted tries would see us through to the semis. Matt Welsh again went very close and it was quite clear at this point that we would have to produce something very special to get past this very physical, fast and defensive side. Although we tried to let our fine rugby skills do the talking, we didn't really have the size and pace to match them in the second half and we went down to a fighting 33-0 defeat against the Bishop's Stortford side who went on to win the tournament, to add to the National Hockey title they had won the previous week. Well done to all the boys, who did themselves and the Pre proud.

Skiing

In the penultimate week of the Lent term the school ski team travelled to the resort of Passo Tonale, Italy to compete in the second annual IAPS alpine skiing competition. The team originally consisted of 18 pupils from years 5 to 8. Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury only a couple of weeks before departure, Reuben MacMurchy was unable to ski so a final total of 17 represented the school in Italy. After a long days travelling we arrived at our hotel in the very rainy village Ponte Di Legno. The talk that evening was of deteriorating snow conditions in the resort and how the rain would affect it. What we didn't realise was that what was rain at the altitude of our hotel was in fact a big dump of snow up the mountain. We couldn’t have been luckier, the previously bare slopes were refreshed and heavy with snow by the next morning and it didn't let up. The first day, although a complete white out, was exactly what the resort needed. By the afternoon the Sun did make an appearance and we were able to view the resort in its full splendour. The Sun then remained for the rest of the week and although the snow was struggling by the end there were no complaints about the weather, it was gorgeous.

Dressed in our very smart looking kit (a big thank you to our sponsors: Knee Specialists, Consumer Intelligence, Regatta and Ellis Brigham), the team went about the first three days skiing with professionalism; our instructors used varying strategies to help improve their technique, from practice on a specially prepared training course to video analysis back in the hotel. The team were put through their paces but responded really well and there were some noticeable improvements in both confidence and technique. On the third day there was the opportunity for the children to complete a 'Gymkhana' course. This consisted of various short turns, long turns, jumps and other obstacles to either ski through, around, under or over. This was a really fun event and provided a good contrast to the pressure of race day. The evenings were opportunities to catch up on schoolwork but also a chance to socialise with other schools, (there were around 10 schools based in our hotel). The kids also had a chance to enjoy the swimming pool or play some pool; there was even a disco night.

The climax of the week was the racing. Having received our bibs and start numbers the evening before, the children were raring to go. We inspected the course with our instructors and then congregated with all of the other competitors, at the start. The giant slalom course had been specially prepared and hardened for the race. There were around twenty gates to negotiate. An Italian ex-Olympic downhill racer set the pace at 39 seconds and the fastest racers would complete it in 40 odd seconds with anything under a minute being a good time. The support from parents and other competitors made for an amazing atmosphere and despite some nerves at the top, all the children thoroughly enjoyed the whole event.

I was very proud of every single member of the team; they all exceeded my expectations and managed extremely good times. Of the 5 teams we entered, four of them placed in the top three of their category. An incredible achievement that shows how strong the skiing is at Clifton despite the limited opportunities we have to train. I was particularly happy with the U13 boys A team, who came third in the most competitive category of the lot.

The Clifton team consisted of: Max Phillips (captain), Jorge Cordoba, Ollie Eldridge, Ed Hamilton Davies, Darcie Coates, Alice Cook, Tom Buckley, Blair Tyre, Alex Sayers, Barnaby O'Callaghan, Lewis Williams, Jon Sayers, Jack Powell, Louis Powell, Sebastian Comelio, Freddie Middleton, Eamon Devlin.

Summer Serenade

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Given by Clifton College soloists with the Bristol Ensemble on Sunday 29th April, 2012.

All are welcome to this Annual Concert for the Guild of Friends of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Tickets are priced at £15 each for adults and £10 each for Over 60s and Under 16s. Tickets will be available on the door.

6.30pm Drinks and Reception, with the College Chaplain, The Rev Kim Taplin giving a tour of the Chapel before the Concert, for those who may be interested to learn more of its features.

7.30pm-9.30pm Concert

Further information.

100% academic awards to celebrate girls at Clifton

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:01 GMT

The Clifton College Development Trust are delighted to announce the launch of seven new academic awards offering gifted girls up to 100 per cent funding of their fees, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of educating girls at the school.

The awards are for the start of the academic year in September 2012 with four academic awards available for girls joining the sixth form in the Upper School and three for girls at 11+ for the Preparatory School.

The new awards are being introduced in a year of already outstanding academic achievement, with sixteen pupils winning offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

A new purpose-built day house for girls, designed to match the surrounding Georgian architecture, will also be opened this autumn as part of the anniversary.

The awards are funded through the Clifton College Development Trust, which involves the support of several Old Cliftonians who have gone on to develop successful careers themselves. The level of funding provided will be means-tested and to apply for an award, prospective candidates will need to sit an exam, the first of which is set for late March.

Philip Hallworth, Director of Admissions at Clifton College, commented: “Girls already make up over third of our current pupils and we are very grateful to the Trust for funding these new awards which will provide life-changing opportunities for seven talented girls to be educated at the school.

“The pastoral care offered at Clifton for both boarders and day pupils is second-to-none and by getting to know each girl really well, we help them to find their own niche, develop their talents and begin to hone their dreams.”

Trust member and Old Cliftonian Jonathan Glassberg, who has had a career in financial markets since leaving the school said: “My days at Clifton left me better equipped in every way to deal with what followed, and the friends I made have remained friends to this day. The school always encouraged us to give something back, and now I hope these awards can help to do that."

Trustee John Pocock, who has a son and daughter at the school explains: “Clifton has given my own children a unique and broad education which I want to see extended to others through more bursaries like these.”

There are already over 100 children at Clifton College with bursaries, twenty of which cover 100% of their fees.

Over recent years there has been strong investment at Clifton, which now offers world-class sporting facilities, a theatre, science school, music school, dance studios and an art and design and technology centre.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 24th April.

To find out more about the awards please contact Admissions at Clifton College on 0117 315 7000 or e-mail admissions@clifton-college.avon.sch.uk.

Celebration of Friendship Day

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Over the past few weeks, members of the Pre choir have been travelling to Whitehall Primary School to create one choir from two schools. Mr Pafford has integrated the groups and assisted in their amazing progress, ready for the Celebration of Friendship Day performance in the Chapel to parents, friends, staff and pupils.

Pupils from Whitehall Primary School experienced workshops in our recording studio and in the music school, including singing, playing drums, electric guitars and percussion instruments. Members of our choir joined them in the various activities, making friendships along the way.

Throughout the afternoon, both schools joined and practised as one choir. Mr Pafford’s encouragement and expertise bought this choir together producing one of the most emotional and outstanding performances ever seen in our Chapel.

An exciting, musical, fun day was had by all. We are all looking forward to welcoming pupils from Whitehall Primary School for another venture in the very near future.

Headmaster's Ceilidh

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

The fourth annual Headmaster’s Ceilidh took place recently and was a great success; the event was once again a sell out with 150 Clifton parents, friends and staff attending. The evening started in the School's picturesque Percival Library with a champagne reception, followed by a four course dinner in the upper dining hall, which included the traditional address of the Haggis, given by the Headmaster, Mr John Milne.

The band and dancers Correyrechan ensured that all guests were able to watch some excellent demonstrations of how Scottish dancing should be done before trying it out for themselves afterwards!

Thank you to everyone who helped with and supported the event, we look forward to seeing you at next year’s Ceilidh.

Please enjoy the gallery of pictures.

Raising the bar

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Sport at Clifton continues to improve at a pace, with some fantastic team results to inspire and set a high benchmark for others to follow.

Butcombe

Butcombe actively participate in a wide variety of sporting activities with great enthusiasm. On the rugby front they were able to field three U8 tag rugby teams against the Downs School at the beginning of the season, two teams in the Beaudesert U8 tag rugby festival in November and also hosted an extremely enjoyable rugby festival of their own on the Close.

The U8 girl’s hockey played two teams against The Downs School, narrowly losing but gaining their first experience of playing in a school match and they all gave a very good account of themselves.

As well as the team sports Butcombe run a huge number of sports clubs and activities from Judo and Karate; where a large number of children have moved swiftly up the Gradings, to swimming and chess and many more.

Pre

The Michaelmas term was another hugely successful and enjoyable term for sport in the Prep school. Boys and girls across all age groups once again showed a real enthusiasm and passion for sport from the swimming pool, the rugby field to the hockey pitches at Beggars Bush.

The girls played hockey as their main sport and had a very successful season highlighted by the 1st VII qualifying for the Nationals IAPS Finals. The girls played well at the finals and finished 5th overall, an excellent achievement. Well done also to the 2nd VII who had an unbeaten season. The 1st XI and Under 12 girls were tournament winners at Cheltenham, with the U12 VII also Severnside winners. The 6th and 7th VII were also unbeaten and for the first time the Pre also fielded an 8th VII. 100% of girls at the Pre played in school matches, a fantastic achievement.

The younger girls have also been excelling, the U11A were Severnside tournament winners and the U10As were unbeaten in school fixtures and were tournament winners at the Millfield and the Severnside tournaments. Conceding just 7 goals whilst scoring 64 shows how well the girls played. All ages and abilities had a season to remember with only a few loses across the whole spectrum – a remarkable achievement.

Not to be outdone the boys have had an excellent season on the rugby pitch. The 1st XV played 14 matches and won 10 of them giving them an impressive win rate of 72%. A special mention should also go to the 3rd XV who lost only one of their 10 matches. The Pre also played a 7th XV for the first time and the boys who took part did themselves and the Pre proud. The 1st VII team played some superb rugby to win the Severnside Rugby Sevens Tournament at Beaudesert. Over 90% of the boys including all in the Lower Pre have represented the School on the rugby field, with 60% of those games resulting in a win or a draw.

The Cross Country team had a great term which culminated in 8 pupils being selected for the Bristol Schools team. They will be competing at the Avon Schools Cross Country Championship and if they do well they could be selected for the County team, good luck to them all.

Upper School

Girls’ hockey had an excellent 2011 season. The U18, U16, U14 won the County tournaments, all qualifying for the Regional Finals showing the strength and depth across the age groups. The seniors performed well with Captain Saskia Barnes leading her team to big victories over Cheltenham and Marlborough. Lily Owsley has continued to dominate School matches, her England U18 selection well deserved. The 2nds had a notable win over Dean Close and the 3rds and 4ths worked hard all season. The juniors in particular dominated the hockey circuit with three unbeaten seasons for the U15A, U14A and the U14C. The juniors played 42 matches in total, only losing 3.

The U15A scored 36, conceded 9 and the majority of the squad were instrumental in winning the County U16 Final; reaching the U16 Regional Finals, after qualifying through the preliminary rounds. A special mention to Anna Sibley who captained the U16 squad, it was a tough experience with a young team, but it is looking very promising for this coming year when they will be at the top of their age group.

The U14A have a very impressive set of statistics! In their school matches they scored 63 goals and only conceded 2. In the County and Regional Finals they scored a total of 48 goals and conceded 4, which is why they became Regional Champions and will represent the West at the National Finals. The girls have worked very hard and they will continue to train in the Lent term for their tournament in Cannock on 29th February.

The 1st XV had the most successful season for 10 years; winning ten matches out of twelve. This equals the number of victories achieved by the unbeaten team of 2001 who won 10 and drew one.

Despite losing their first match against Taunton the 1st XV team then put together 9 straight victories. The highlights of the season which featured many close games were wins against Cheltenham 20–13 (Away) and a nail-biting 22–17 victory against Bromsgrove, but last Saturday’s victory 17–15 against a Sherborne team who boasted England U16 internationals was probably the most dramatic of the season – and a moment every player will remember forever.

Clifton’s 1st XV played for four trophies and won four, a feat which will be a real target for future 1st XV’s. The squad have been actively helping junior players in games sessions and they have set an ethos of hard work and teamwork that future 1st XV players should aim to emulate. Their discipline on the field has been a key factor, never blaming any teammate or referee for mistakes but just getting on with the job of playing rugby and enjoying themselves.

Captain and No 8 Max Cresswell has been an inspirational leader; Vice Captain Will Watson kicked many vital penalties and conversions; however the whole squad have been tremendous and a wonderful advertisement for schoolboy rugby.

Match results: Taunton School: Lost 8–13; King’s Taunton: Won 22–10; Bromsgrove School: Won 22–17; Bristol Grammar School (Bresnahan Trophy): Won 16–3; St Edward’s Oxford: Won 44–10; Marlborough College (Governor’s Cup): Won 22–12; Prior Park: Won 48–0; Bristol Grammar School: Won 21–3; Blundell’s School (Colquhoun Cup): Won 18–3; Cheltenham College: Won 20–13; Old Swinford Hospital School: Lost 10–20; Sherborne School (John Craig Cup): Won 17–15.

It has been 10 years single Clifton has won a Rackets trophy in the boys’ Public Schools Singles tournament – until now. Sam Byron-Evans was the last, winning the Renny Cup in 1991, although it is testament to sport at Clifton that the first ever girls racquets open competition at Queen’swas between two Cliftonians, Lucy Piggott and Emma Powell, when Lucy won the day.

In December Ben McGeoch showed great skill, determination, desire and a lot of composure to bring the Renny Cup back to Clifton. He came through the first four rounds without conceding a game. He met the Number 2 seed in the semi-final and came through with a 3–1 win, hitting the ball very cleanly and accurately.

In the Final Ben was up against Goldie (Eton). It was a tense first game as nerves crept, but Ben showed his steel by taking the first game 15–7. In the second, there were some fantastic rallies and Goldie pipped Ben 16–13. The third was another nail-biting encounter but Ben served really well at crucial times in the game and won it 15–12. Ben dominated the fourth, playing quality rackets and served brilliantly, winning the game 15–4 and the match 3–1. Ben has worked extremely hard at his game all term and thoroughly deserved his win.

William Nicholson visit

Thu, 8 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

To end what has been a jam-packed term, the Library was delighted to present author and screenwriter William Nicholson, who came over from Surrey to talk to Y7 and 8 about his popular fantasy books for young people, The Wind Singer Trilogy. Set in a dystopian fantasy city called Aramanth, the characters of The Wind Singer are ruled by an examination board and must sit annual tests no matter how old they are to determine their place in society. The theme of the book struck a chord with the children, as did William Nicholson’s obvious passion for writing, and the students asked lots of mature and intelligent questions at the end of the session.

Operation Christmas Child

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Children from the Pre generously filled a huge number of shoeboxes with gifts recently to take part in Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is the world's largest children's Christmas project, run by the charity Samaritan's Purse. Children from across the Pre filled boxes full of gifts and presents, and formed a line from the Pre Hall to the collection lorry to help load all the presents on board. The shoeboxes will now be sent around the world and given to under privileged children.

The Pre had 165 shoeboxes in total, well done and thank you to all who helped.

Motivation

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

The pupils of the Pre were visited by Mr. David Constantine from the charity Motivation, who gave a fantastic talk to the School in assembly. Motivation is internationally recognised as a leader in designing, producing and distributing high-quality, low-cost wheelchairs for poor countries. So far their products and training programmes have reached over 110,000 people in 83 countries around the world.

David spoke on the importance of people having the right wheelchair for the environment that they live in around the world and his own experiences of life of how an accident when he was 21 years old led to him being paralysed and how he chose to not let being in a wheelchair stop him living his life to the full.

After the talk David answered questions from the pupils